Perennial Herbs, Compound Butters

Chives and parsley are my early harvests from the herb garden. The thyme and rosemary are still woody and pungent and I'll be glad when their new growth begins.

Giving Deer the Boot

An old farmer out in the dessert of New Mexico gave me his secret for keeping the critters out of his garden and hen house and, for the past three years, it's worked for me: old boots nailed to the fence posts. This one has weathered to an artistic silver dustiness and probably has no aroma left, but I think I'll leave it where it is and just add a new one to the post. One of my friends just brought me a bag full of her husband's old work and hunting boots, so I've a good supply. I think I'll plant some tiny, trailing succulents in some of the old boots this year.

A Little Knitting

A few months ago the TSA confiscated my waiter's corkscrew, forgotten in a pocket of my purse. This past flight to/from Puerto Rico found me breezing through security with two sets of knitting needles. Someone would have to stand still for a long time for me to screw my corkscrew into some part of them, but I could put an eye out rather quickly with the knitting needles....or, for that matter, a simple ball point pen. Go figure the reasoning. Perhaps the TSA takes seriously the motto "I knit so I won't kill someone." 

How to Make Fabric Softener

Fabric softener is expensive and the scent can be strong and offensive, so when one of my friends gave me a recipe for homemade fabric softener I had to try it, and I'm thrilled with the results. It makes a very large batch so mix it in a gallon jug.

The Captain's Pleasure

Last week we sailed off the coast of Puerto Rico on a large catamaran with a group of friends. I don't like sweet drinks, so I asked a deck hand if there was anything other than the offered pina coladas and rum punch. He offered to make me something called "The Captain's Special." Because his accent was so strong, I thought he said "The Captain's Pleasure." I'm saving the recipe for this tropical libation under the latter, mistaken, but much more romantic, name. Combine the ingredients in quantities to suit your taste and garnish as you like. This is a very refreshing drink.

DIY Grow Light for Seed Starting

It's easy. I promise! Total cost: $60. Tools used: 1 hack saw & 1 drill with a 1/4" bit. Read on.....

Great Gardening APP for Your Smartphone

I have a shelf filled with books about gardening, but I have found the Garden Guide App for my smartphone indispensable. It's offered free of charge from Mother Earth News, and here are some photos of what you see on your phone when you pull it up and the things you will find there:

Mediterranean Pea Salad Recipe

Fresh, tangy, and crunchy, this is a great salad for your Independence Day picnic. It's healthy, too. I've added variations at the end of the recipe for turning it into a main dish salad.

In case you're tempted to use bottled salad dressing, please don't. This is super easy and bottled dressings just add too much sodium and oil and "bottled dressing funk" flavor to an otherwise super delicious salad. Here's the easy recipe:

Double Day Lily, Golden Corn Muffin Recipe

This is a recipe for simply delicious corn muffins. It's adapted from the Farm Journal's Complete Home Baking Book, copyright 1979, the year Bob & I married. My grandmother gave me the cookbook for a gift my first Christmas as a wife. I love that she signed the first page. Unless it's a first edition or valuable collector's book, you should always sign books that you give as gifts. It might bring someone joy to remember you when they open their book, even decades later.

Here's the recipe, right below the photo I took yesterday of a flower that was given to me years ago. When it blooms every summer, I am reminded of the dear lady who gave it to me. Oh, and at the end of this post you'll see a photo of one of our very traditional vegetable plate suppers. (The tiny bit of ham that seasons the beans doesn't count.)

New Potting Bench, Fried Okra Recipe

I've long wanted a potting bench with a nice deep sink for scrubbing and soaking pots and vegetables, so when I found this sink at a local Habitat store for just $10, I snatched it up. Bob was so inspired that he built this potting bench around my sink the very next day, just in time for washing all the okra I harvested from our garden. He installed a faucet as well as an extension of the garden hose for a sprayer. Right now I catch the water coming out of the drain in a 5 gallon bucket, and use that water to give my flowers a drink. I think he's brilliant and so very thoughtful!

Here's a recipe for fried okra, right below this photo of my wonderful new potting bench. You can see Bob and his "helpers" in the first picture.

Freezing Basil, Photo of Cuties

Ever wonder if you can freeze basil? You sure can. Here's my first harvest, three big, beautiful, aromatic plants. I'll tell you how to successfully freeze your basil so it won't turn black. And speaking of black, there's a picture of two of the three "Cuties" down there at the bottom of this post. :-)

Magnolia Flower, Buttermilk Biscuit Recipe

This is magnolia flower season here in the South, and the fragrance is incredibly strong and lovely. Break off a blossom, place it in a pretty vase, and put it on the table on the porch. Sit back and watch the bees, so intoxicated by the flower they will pay no attention to you, as you can see in this photo of one busy little bee.

Training Brody, Cucumbers in Sour Cream

What a happy morning, out in the fresh air with dogs and friends at the beautiful Swift Creek Kennel in Rembert, SC!

Aunt Julia's Yellow Squash Casserole Recipe, Bob & Debbie 1980

I lived my whole life in Pennsylvania until Bob & I were married. He took me to Atlanta to meet the whole clan, and I remember feeling that I'd never experienced anyplace more hot and humid than Georgia in July. It was 106 degrees the day we took all Bob's little cousins to Six Flags over Georgia. Uncle Buster's teeth almost flew out of his mouth on the roller coaster! Here's a photo of us way back when we were first starting out together. Oh, the memories!!!

Bob & Debbie in 1980

Atlanta Bob's late Great Aunt Julia gave his mother this recipe and she passed it along to me. Happiness is family recipes passed down through the generations! 

Happiness is a Garden of Girlfriends, Lemon Bars

Garden Club Lemon Bars

Lemon Bars are a true Southern tradition, and I took mine to our garden club luncheon this spring. Everybody brought salads and desserts, many made from recipes appearing in our state garden club cookbook, and there was much laughter and happy conversation served with our delicious food. Here's my recipe for lemon bars. It's really easy and so quick to make that you can do this when you don't have much time to spend in the kitchen. Just a few ingredients and less than an hour results in a perfect summer treat. Here's the recipe:

Best Baked Spaghetti & Easy Does It Roses

Did you make the Really Easy Marinara Sauce from my last post? If you didn't, you can certainly use store-bought marinara sauce in this recipe. You can make this a completely meatless meal, or brown a pound of ground beef and some Italian sausage and add that to the sauce. The last time I made this (last week) I sauteed onion, bell pepper, chopped zucchini, and sliced crimini mushrooms and added those to the sauce instead of meat. You are only limited by your imagination!

Best Baked Spaghetti
(Based on a recipe from Rowe's Restaurant in Staunton, VA)

Really Easy Homemade Marinara Sauce & Eagle Nest Photo

You don't have to use the most expensive canned tomatoes for this sauce. I used my grocery store's Clear Value brand, which was .67 per 14 1/2 ounce can. I also used Riunite Lambrusco red wine, which was about $4 a bottle. It's really quite fruity and my favorite wine for this. It's a very good value recipe!

Really Easy Homemade Marinara Sauce

4 tablespoons olive oil
5 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, or to taste (I like my sauce zippy but not deadly.)
1/2 c. red wine (not sweet)
3 (28 oz.) cans (or equivalent) diced tomatoes in juice
1 (28 oz.) can (or equivalent) tomato sauce
Italian herb blend of choice, about 1 tablespoon or to taste

BBQ Pork Ribs with Sweet Rum Glaze, Rio Samba Rose

Just in time for Memorial Day, here's one of my favorite recipes. Hope you enjoy it, too! 

Easy Barbecued Pork Ribs

with Sweet Rum Glaze

Serves 4

Sugar Snap Peas from the Garden & Recipe

The first time I ever remember tasting sugar snap peas was at my grandmother's house. She served them with stewed new potatoes, all mixed together with lots of sweet, creamy, salty butter. I've loved them ever since, and the recipe is after the photos below.

Easy Cherry Salad Recipe & Playing with Color

Color-Enhanced Photo "Going Down the Drain"

I was fooling around with a rather colorless photo I took of water draining down the overflow pipe in our farm pond, and really like this effect, which you can see in this version of the photo. Check below the Cherry Salad recipe to see the original, and let me know what you think.